Oil well derrick substructure



y 1950 H. J. WOOLSLAYER E.TAL 2,516,739

on. WELL DERRICK SUBSTRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 15, 1947Helm-'2 J. Wamaansej Ceca. \/NKINS QWW r y 25, 1950 H. J. WOOLSLAYERETAL 2,516,739

011. WELL DERRICK SUBSTRUCTURE Filed Nov. 15, 1947 2 Sheets-She 2 HOMERJ Woonsu; v52, 9

Ceca JENKINS.

their Patented July 25, 950

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE on. WELL DERRICK SUBSTRUCTURE Homer J.Woolslayer and Cecil Jenkins, Tulsa, Okla, assignors to Lee C. MooreCorporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application.November 15, 1947, Serial No. 786,172

Claims'. 1. invention relates to oil well derrick substructures, andmore particularly to the independent type which does not support aderrick.

When such a substructure is used, the derrick legs do not rest on it butextend down past the substructure to the ground. This allows thesubstructure to be-remove'd from within the derrick without taking downthe derrick. In one form of independent substructure; all loads thereonare carried to corner posts by means of heav fabricated trusses, therebyeliminating most of'theinterior foundations which interfere withoperations beneath the substructure. Nevertheless, due to the heavyloading on the substructure and the long spans supported only at thecorners of. the substructure, the trusses. must be very heavy and theirdepth has to be: so. reat that either the. top of the substructure isabnormally high up inthe derrick or: the: trusses interfere with accessto the wellhead located in acellar at the center; of the area bounded bythe f'eetof the derrick.

It. is among theobjects of this invention to provide a. substructurefor. use with a derrick that has-legs resting on the ground,lwhich isrelatively low and inexpensive, which is strong enough for theloadsimposed upon it, and yet which does not encroach upon the head roomdesired beneath the. substructure;

In accordance with this invention an elevated base, supported above theground by posts, is made only Wide enough to span the cellar thatcontains the. upper end or head. of awell. As is. customary, the cellaris spaced a considerable distance fromv thederrick. legs and. rest onthe. ground around it. The" base. is strong enough to support all loadsthat may be imposed upon it, including. a pipe setback and a rotarytable with its casing load, but yet it is formed from relatively smalland light weight beams because they span only short distances. Mountedon top of the base is a horizontal framework which projects from atleast one side of the base inorder to form a support fora. floor orworking platform having a consider ably greater area than the'top ofthebase. The overhanging" portion of; the framework is supported fromthe base and posts and not directly from the ground; Preferably, theframework projects laterally in all directions from the'base, butoverhangs one. side of the base a materially lesserdistance' than theopposite side; so that independently supported drawworks can be placedclose to the side of the base". The framework is relatively light andneed be supported only by the central base because it' does not carryheavy loads; The preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated inthe accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of oursubstructure located in the bottom of a derrick; and Figs. 2 and 3 arecross sections taken on the lines IIII and III-III, respectively, ofFig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the lower ends of the four legs i of aderrick are shown mounted on suitable foundations 2' on the ground atsubstantially equal distancesfrom the upper end of a well 3 that hasbeen drilled by the derrick. The Well head opens into a rectangularcellar" which is dug into the ground and provided with heavy concretewalls 4. The cellar is made no larger than necessary and therefore isspaced a considerable distance from the derrick legs.

It is a feature of this invention that our substructure is-formed fromtwo major parts, including a strong base 6 of minimum size supportedabove this cellar. This base is formed from a pair oiparallel lintelI-beams 'l extending along opposite sides-of the cellar and projecting ashort distance beyond its ends. These side beams are connected by fourshort cross beams that are substantially no" longer than necessary toextend across the underlying cellar. That is, the width of the base isjustgreat enough to insure that it will have good support by the groundor wall around the cellar. Two of the cross beams 8 are near the centerof the side beams and are spaced apartthe proper distance for supportingthe usual rotary table (not shown) disposed above the well. As shown in.Fig. 3 these cross beams preferably have the same depth: as the sidebeams. The other two cross beams 9 are located about half way betweenthe center beams and the ends. of the side beams, and. do. not need to.be as deep as the other beams. because they do not carr as heavy a load.

The base is. supported above. the ground by means of four posts I I thatengage it at the junction of" end beams 9 and the side beams. Each postisiormed from a short, heavy I-beam, and its upper end is notched, asshown in Fig. 2', to form steps on which the adjoining base beams rest.The base may be steadied by inclined braces l2" (Fig. 3)" extendingfromthe'lower portions of the legs up to the bottomsoithe' side beams.

The base 6 not only is strong enough to carry a rotary table and thecasing suspended from it, but also the usual pipe setback (not shown). Asupport for thepipe setback is formed byl'aying cross members Itacrossone end Ofth'e. base on both sides of the two underlying posts.The necessary strength is'obtained by the use-oflF-beams; instead oftrusses, because the posts'are located supported by' the base.

the substructure is formed is a floor-supporting framework 15 laid ontop of the base and supported solely by it. As shown in Fig. 1, thisframework is formed from a plurality of spaced parallel long and shortsills I6 extending across the base and connected at their ends to a pairof parallel side members 11 that are approximately as long as the widthof the available area within the lower part of the derrick. The sillsproject from opposite sides of the base to increase the width of theworking platform. When side memhers I! are longer than base beams l, thesills that connect the ends of the side members rest on brackets I8attached to the ends of beams 1. One side member I? of the frameworkpreferably is located the same distance from the well as are the endsills, and is braced by inclined braces !9 (Fig. 2) extending from thelower ends of the adjacent posts I i upward to the outer edge of theoverhanging framework. However, it is preferred to locate the other sidemember considerably closer to the well by not having the sills projectso far from that side of base 6. The reason for this is to permitdrawworks (not shown to be mounted on an independent support close tothe well, thereby making it unnecessary for the framework 1 to be strongenough to support the drawworks.

In order to allow the rotary table to rest on center beams 8, an openspace or slot is formed in framework by extending a pair of parallelstringers 2| from one of the end sills inward across the adjacent endbeam and the two center beams of the base. To do this it is necessary todivide some of the sills into short lengths extending from the stringersto the side members [7. The stringers are spaced apart the necessarydistance and straddle the axis of the well. Their inner ends are locatedat or close to the innermost cross member I3 forming part of the pipesetback support. The slot is long enough to accommodate the rotary tableskids.

By supporting framework 45 entirely from the base and posts, it becomesunnecessary to provide separate supporting members for the frameworkwhich, due to irregular or settling foundations, might be difficult oreven ineffectual.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, we have explainedthe principle of our invention and have illustrated and described whatwe now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, we desire tohave it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, theinvention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustratedand described.

We claim:

1. A substructure for use with a derrick that has legs resting on theground at points around and considerably distant from a cellarcontaining the head of a well, the substructure comprising an elevatedbase that is only wide enough to span the cellar, posts supporting thebase above the ground, the base being strong enough to support a pipesetback and a rotary table with its casing load, and a. horizontalframework mounted on said base and entirely supported by it andprojecting from at least one side of the base for supporting a floor.

2. A substructure for use with a derrick that has legs resting on theground at points around and considerably distant from a cellarcontaining the head of a well, the substructure comprising an elevatedbase that is only wide enough to span the cellar, posts supporting thebase above the ground, the base being strong enough to support a pipesetback and a rotary table with its casing load, and a horizontalframework mounted on said base and entirely supported by it andprojecting from opposite sides of the base for supporting a floor.

3. A substructure for use with a derrick that has legs resting on theground at points around and considerably distant from a cellarcontaining the head of a well, the substructure comprising an elevatedbase that is only wide enough to span the cellar, posts supporting thebase above the ground, the base being strong enough to support a pipesetback and a rotary table with its casing load, and a horizontalframework supported only by said base and projecting laterally in alldirections therefrom for supporting a floor of considerably greater areathan the top of said base.

4. A substructure for use with a derrick that has legs resting on theground at points around and considerably distant from a cellarcontaining the head of a well, the substructure comprising anelevatedbase that is only wide enough to span the cellar, postssupporting the base above the ground, the base being strong enough tosupport a pipe setback and a rotary table with its casing load, and ahorizontal framework mounted on said base and overhanging opposite sidesof it for supporting a floor, said framework overhanging one of saidsidesa materially lesser amount than the other side to permitindependently supported drawworks to be placed close to said base.

5. A substructure for use with a derrick that has legs resting on theground at points around and considerably distant from a cellarcontaining the head of a well, the substructure comprising an elevatedbase that is only wide enough to span the cellar, posts supporting thebase above the ground, the base being strong enough to support a pipesetback and a rotary table with its casing load, and a horizontalframework mounted on said base and projecting laterally in alldirections therefrom for supporting a floor, said framework projectingsubstantially uniform distances from the opposite ends of the base andprojecting from one side of the base a materially lesser amount thanfrom the other side to permit independently supported drawworks to beplaced close ,to said one side of the base.

6. A substructure for use with a derrick that has legs resting on theground at points around and considerably distant from a cellarcontaining the head of a well, the substructure comprising an elevatedbase that is only wide enough to span the cellar, posts supporting thebase above the ground, the base being strong enough to support a pipesetback and a rotary table with its casing load, and a horizontalframework mounted on said base and projecting laterally in alldirections therefrom for supporting a floor, the distances from thecenter of the base to the two ends and one side of said framework beingsubstantially uniform and materially greater than the distance from saidcenter to the remaining side of the framework.

7. A substructure.- for use with a derrick that has les resting on theground. at, points around and considerably distant fromacellarcontaining the head of a well, the substructure comprisinganelevated base that "is only wide enough to span the cellar, postssupporting the base above the ground. the base. being strong enough tosupport agpipe. setback and a rotary table with its casing load, ahorizontal frame'workmounted on said base and projecting from at leastone side of it for supporting a floor, and inclined braces connected tothe outer edge of said projecting side of the framework and to the lowerportions of the adjacent posts for bracing the overhanging portion ofthe framework.

8. A substructure for use with a derrick that has legs resting on theground at points around and considerably distant from a cellarcontaining the head of a well, the substructure comprising an elevatedbase that is only wide enough to span the cellar, posts supporting thebase above the ground, the base being strong enough to support a pipesetback and a rotary table with its casing load, and a horizontalframework mounted on said base and projecting from opposite sides of itfor supporting a floor, said framework projecting from one of said sidesa materially lesser amount than from the other side to accommodateindependently supported drawworks close to said base, and inclinedbraces below said last-mentioned side of the framework extending fromits outer portion to the lower portions of the adjacent posts.

.9. A substructure for use with a derrick that has legs resting on theground at points around and considerably distant from a cellarcontaining th head of a well, the substructure comprising an elevatedbase that is only wide enough to span the cellar, posts supporting thebase above the ground, the base being strong enough to support a pipesetback and a rotary table with its casing load, a horizontal frameworkmounted on said base and projecting laterally in all directionstherefrom for supporting a floor, said framework projectingsubstantially uniform distances from the opposite ends of the base andprojecting from one side of the base a materially lesser amount thanfrom the other side to accommodate independently supported drawworksclose to said one side of the base, and brackets projecting from theends of said base for bracing the overlying projecting portions of theframework.

10. A substructure for use with a derrick that has legs resting on theground at points around and considerably-distant from a cellarcontaining the head of a well, the substructure comprising an elevatedbase that is only wide enough to span the cellar, posts supporting thebase above the ground, the base being strong enough to support a pipesetback and a rotary table with its casing load, cross members mountedon the base at one side of the well to form a pipe setback support, anda horizontal framework mounted on said base and projecting from at leastone side of it for supporting a floor.

11. A substructure for use with a derrick that has legs resting on theground at points around and considerably distant from a cellarcontaining the head of a well, the substructure comprising an elevatedbase that is only wide enough to span the cellar, posts supporting thebase above the ground, the base being strong enough to support a pipesetback and a rotary table with its casing load, and a horizontalframework mounted on said base a-ndprojecting from lat leastwe side ofit for supporting a floor, said framework including a series ofparallelsi-llsex tending 'crossways of the base with horizontals'idemembers connected to their ends 1 .12. A substructure for use-with a-derriek'that has legs resting on the ground at points amine andconsiderably distant from a cellar containing the head ofa we'll, thesubstructure comprising an elevated base that is only wide enough tospan the cellar, posts supporting the base above the ground, the basebeing strong enough to support a pipe setback and a rotary table withits casing load, and a horizontal framework mounted on said base andprojecting from opposite sides of it for supporting a floor, saidframework including a pair of side members parallel to the oppositesides of the base and connected at their ends by long sills, a pair ofspaced parallel stringers straddling the axis of the well and extendingtoward one end of the framework to form an opening in the framework forreceiving a rotary table, and a plurality of spaced parallel short sillsextending from said stringers to said side members.

13. A substructure for use with a derrick that has legs resting on theground at points around and considerably distant from a cellarcontaining the head of a Well, the substructure comprising an elevatedbase that is only wide enough to span the cellar, posts supporting thebase above the ground, the base being strong enough to support a pipesetback and a rotary table with its casing load, cross members mountedon the end portion of the base at one side of the well to form a pipesetback support, a pair of spaced parallel stringers straddling the axisof the well and extending substantially from said cross members to apoint beyond the opposite end of the base, a long sill extending acrossthe outer ends of said stringers and. secured thereto, parallel sidemembers connected at one end to the ends of said sill, another long sillconnected to the opposite ends of said side members, a plurality ofshort sills extending from said stringers to said side members, and aplurality of long sills between said other long sill and the inner endsof the stringers and having their ends connected to said side members.

14. A substructure for use with a derrick that has legs resting on theground at points around and considerably distant from a cellarcontaining the head of a well, the substructure comprising an elevatedbase formed from a pair of parallel side beams connected by cross beamsonly long enough to span the cellar, four posts supporting the sidebeams above the ground, the base being strong enough to support a pipesetback and a rotary table with its casing load, a plurality of spacedparallel sills extending across and supported by said side beams andprojecting from the outer sides thereof, and side members connecting theouter ends of the sills, whereby a framework is formed adapted tosupport a floor of greater area than the top of the base.

15. A substructure for use with a derrick that has legs resting on theground at points around and considerably distant from a cellarcontaining the head of a well, the substructure comprising an elevatedbase formed from a pair of parallel side beams connected by cross beamsonly long enough to span the cellar, the upper surfaces of all of saidbeams lying in the same horizontal plane, two of said crOSs beams beinglocated near the ends of the side beams, a secand pair r crossbeamsbeing disposed near the REFERENCES CITED center of the side beams tosupport a rotary table, The following. references are of record in thefour posts supporting the base at the junctions me this patent:

of the side beams and the outer cross beams,

and a. horizontal framework mounted on said 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS sidebeams and projecting from at least one side Number Name Date of the baseto support a floor. 2,086,650 Trout July 13, 1937 HOMER J. WOOLSLA2,092,511 Henry Sept. '7, 1937 CECIL JENKINS. 2,232,268 Rawson Feb. 18,1941

